


Shades of Blue

by negaii



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: AU, Established Relationship, Fantasy, Fluff, Friendship, Interspecies Romance, M/M, Magic, Marvel 616/MCU Crossover
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-30
Updated: 2015-12-30
Packaged: 2018-05-10 11:13:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5583679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/negaii/pseuds/negaii
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prince Satoshi invites Nino's lover, Jun, from Jotunheim to his palace to spend time with his best friend. Too bad said lover has completely disappeared the next day after a night together. Nino is not happy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shades of Blue

**Author's Note:**

> Please read if you aren't familiar with the Marvel universe!!! Just a note, I am using elements from the MCU, but I have taken liberties for some things such as the Japanese names for the Vanir people.
> 
> A little explanation on the names used in this fic: I refer to our dear leader as Satoshi in this (generally I would use Ohno) because I'm using Ohno as his father's name. This would make him Satoshi Ohnoson. If Ohno was a woman, he would be Satoko Ohnosdottir. This applies to the other members and races as well. Nino is the only one to be referred to as Nino (briefly explained in the fic).
> 
> To make it easier for you, here's a general guide of names, their race, and titles:
> 
> Satoshi Ohnoson: Vanir (Crowned Prince of Vanaheim)  
> Kazunari "Nino" Ninomiyason: Vanir (Head Healer of Vanaheim Palace)  
> Jun Matsuson: Jotun/frost giant (King Loki's Head Mage)  
> Masaki Aibason: Vanir/Aesir mix (Ohno's cousin and the Diplomat between Asgard and Vanaheim)  
> Sho Sakuraison: Light elf (Crowned Prince of Alfheim)
> 
> Whew. Long author's note. Anyhow... I hope you like it? And many thanks to my lovely friend, Nev, for reading this over and for her comments.

Nino is confused. He is very very confused. When he wakes up this morning, feeling sore but incredibly satiated from last night's round (or three) of lovemaking, Nino realizes the cold figure that's supposed to be lying beside him is missing.

And has been for quite some time. 

At first, Nino thinks that Jun is probably using the toilet. But after thirty minutes, Nino realizes that Jun isn't coming back and he starts to panic. He quickly throws on his casual robes and searches his whole quarters for the Jotun but to no avail. He asks the servants if they have seen anything amiss around the castle, but all he receives in return are wary or confused looks.

Nino himself is confused. While the rest of the residents (sans Satoshi, because Satoshi knows everything, and even arranged for Jun to visit by helping Nino sneak the Jotun mage in the castle) have no idea that there is a Jotun in the palace, Nino is freaking out because he can imagine the terror and outcry that may occur if Jun is discovered.

Nino doesn't want Jun to be killed by a crazy and frightened Vanir. However, as he makes his way to the dining hall to break his fast, ears on the lookout for any talk or gossip about a wandering Jotun, he hears nothing amiss. Sighing in frustration, he decides to give up for now and walks quicker to the dining hall. He'll start looking for Jun after he gets some food in his stomach. There's no point worrying on an empty stomach; it would make his thoughts more coherent when he actually gets food into his system. He's starving, and last night's activities has sapped all the energy out of him.

When he enters the dining hall, Satoshi and his cousin, Masaki, are already seated near the top of the table. Satoshi sits near the head with his parents (Satoshi's mother is sitting across from him, and his father sits at the head of the table) while Masaki is seated next to Satoshi's mother. His friends are currently in a deep discussion about the woodlands beyond the river that's behind the palace. Satoshi wants to fish, and Masaki is interested in exploring the lands. Nino walks up to the table and takes a seat next to Masaki. Muttering a good morning to the table, he grabs a slice of bread from the basket and begins to eat.

"Is something the matter, Kazunari? You seem rather down." Satoshi is looking at him with a frown. Nino knows that Satoshi is wondering why he is acting this way, especially if Jun was with him last night. Nino wishes he can tell his best friend the situation, but he really can't as they are both in public. There's no need to cause mass hysteria this early in the morning.

"It's nothing," he says. In the corner of his eyes, he sees Masaki watching them with interest. Nino feels bad about keeping Masaki in the dark about the whole thing, but he honestly wants to keep his relationship with Jun on the down-low for now. Satoshi was the one that (indirectly) introduced them after all, so it makes sense for him to know. Nino will tell Masaki one day, but just not now. He wants to keep his relationship with Jun a secret just a little longer.

It's selfish, but Nino likes the idea of having a secret lover that strikes fear into the hearts of many Vanir. Nino is glad Jun is amused by the whole thing and just goes along with it. On his side, only his king and Prince Sho from Alfheim (one of Jun's dearest friends) knows about the relationship. Nino thinks King Loki is very understanding, even if the king does terrify him a bit. He reminds himself to send King Loki some of his special healing potions the next time Jun goes back home. As for Prince Sho, he hopes that the young elf prince could get a move on with his courtship with Satoshi already.

Satoshi eyes him for a moment before finally relenting. Nino shoots him a grateful smile and continues eating his breakfast. He makes a discreet hand signal with his pinky when he is sure that Satoshi's gaze is on him, signifying that he needs to talk to him in private. Satoshi doesn't give any indication that he saw the small gesture. But as he lifts his goblet to drink, Nino sees him repeat the same signal he did earlier.

Nino sighs. He needs all the help he can get really.

 

"Okay, what's the matter? You've been gloomy ever since you stepped into the hall for breakfast. Are you and Jun okay?" Satoshi asks as they enter Satoshi's private quarters. Nino has always been fascinated at how simple his best friend's room is, despite his incredibly high status as the crowned prince.

Satoshi's room is littered with paintings and drawings he has done in his free time. They're scattered all over his room, on his floor, and on his table. On the side of his large bed is a huge tapestry that hangs on the wall. The tapestry is an image of a thunderstorm with a raging sea that Satoshi himself had woven. Amidst the gloomy chaos of the picture is a rainbow that Satoshi added to create a perfect contrast. Satoshi calls the image, _Arashi_. When Nino had asked why when he first saw the tapestry decades ago, Satoshi had simply shrugged. "It just fits," he had said.

" _Satoshi_ ," Nino hisses grabbing his friend’s elbow in contained ( _barely_ ) panic when the doors finally close to give the pair utmost secrecy. "I can't find Jun!" Satoshi looks at him in disbelief.

"What do you mean you can't find him?"

"I woke up this morning and he wasn't there! And I checked all over my quarters and the washing areas, and he's not there. I don't know where he went! It's like he just vanished!" He exclaims. And then he stops. Vanished. _Oh_. What if-

"Nino," Satoshi says sternly when he sees his friend's expression seep into one that is of pained resignation decorating over his features. "You and I both know that what you and Jun have done is more than just a fleeting moment of fancy. Don't worry, wherever he is, I'm sure he will show up."

That may be, but Nino still has that inkling of doubt in his heart. After his daily routine of checking up on Satoshi's health (perfect as always of course because Nino makes sure of it), he heads back to his quarters. Feeling dejected, he falls face forward on his bed and thinks. Where could Jun be? Did he return back to Jotunheim? But that couldn't be because Jun had told him that King Loki had allowed him to stay with him for three days at most (Jun told him that King Loki would have let him stay longer, but their annual Harvest Festival was coming up, and the King needed all his palace mages to help with the celebrations).

Jun had been really excited when he told Nino that he was allowed to spend the three days with him in Vanaheim. And now, the Jotun mage is missing. Nino groans and rubs his eyes.

There's a possibility Jun could be exploring the castle at this very moment, but with Jun's impressive figure, there would already be talk about a blue frost giant on the loose. Realizing that lying around in his bed is not doing anything to help his current predicament, Nino sits up and begins to think.

He can't give up yet. There's a possibility Jun has gotten lost in the castle and is sitting somewhere waiting for Nino to find him. The other possible scenario is that Jun has gone home back to Jotunheim. Maybe King Loki needed Jun to do something for him? Nino knows that Jun has the capability to communicate with King Loki through the use of magic. He has no clue how it works, but it is incredibly impressive; Jun simply uses the magical energy around him to create a window that connects him to his king. The window also allowed them to transfer items to one another, and this was demonstrated when King Loki sent him a small ice sculpture he created in a few seconds when he saw Nino beside his palace mage. Nino had been incredibly honoured with the impromptu gift.  

Nino knows that Jotunheim boasts the highest number of skilled magic users in all of the Nine Realms. King Loki is possibly the best mage to rule Jotunheim in centuries, and is probably one of the strongest mages in all of the Nine Realms.

Nino sighs. Why didn't he ask Jun to teach him how to communicate magically? It would probably save him a lot of time (and worry) trying to locate him. Rubbing his forehead, Nino sits up and begins to contemplate on his next plan.

 

Nino decides to check the palace's common grounds first. It's one of the most populated areas in the entire palace, and it's teeming with servants, merchants, and guards. If Jun is in disguise as a Vanir and pretending to be part of the palace staff, this would be the best place to start. As he makes his way through the area, he is greeted by several palace staff members and servants. Nino greets back kindly. Sometimes, it amazes him that he's here, working for the royal family of Vanir. Sure, he's a talented and skilled healer, and maybe he's a close childhood friend of the crowned prince, but he's never imagined himself as someone who would obtain a high status in Vanir society growing up.

Nino had been content to use his gift of healing for the poor and less fortunate. He didn't have an easy time growing up, and food was often scarce at home, and his village was poor.  He often requested food or other home economical things to bring back home for his family as payment for his services. When he met Satoshi, his life changed, even if he didn't recognized it at the time. Now, here he is, the head healer for the royal family, and most specifically, for the crowned prince. Nino is still using his gifts for the sick and wounded, but it requires less travelling to villages, as the patients would often visit the healing chambers located just right outside the inner palace if need be.

Despite the convenience, Nino misses the travelling sometimes, the endless wandering from village to village. Sometimes, he feels like he should just ask Satoshi if it's okay to take a month off from working in the palace healing chambers just to travel around Vanaheim and visit the sick and wounded in the less fortunate villages. He knows Satoshi is trying his best to support these villages, but sometimes it's not enough.

 _Satoshi is going to be a good ruler one day_ Nino thinks to himself as he navigates through the crowd, and Nino would be proud to serve under him, friend or not. Vanaheim would flourish under his rule, and Nino supposes it will be because of Satoshi's disregard of Asgard's rules and ignorance, that has a huge influence on some aspects of Vanir society. Satoshi has never really bought into Asgard's dislike and suspicion of the other worlds and races. Nino is especially glad that Satoshi holds no prejudice towards Jotunheim and its people. While Satoshi's parents are wary of Jotuns, they do not share the same prejudice as the Aesir do, _and that's better than nothing_ Nino thinks. He's so engrossed in his thoughts that he doesn't realize that he's run straight into someone. He lets out a yelp of surprise before finding himself falling backwards from the impact.

"Head Healer Nino!" The figure exclaims in panic, quickly scrambling to help him get back up on his feet.

"I'm fine, I'm fine, it's just my pride that's not intact," he replies. Dusting himself off and grimacing at the dirt on his robes, he looks up at the person he ran into. The person is tall, much taller than him and dressed in the simple garb that servants wear in the palace. He is handsome with strong features, fair skin, and possesses a rather lean but muscular body. His hair is shaggy and brunet in colour, its length just reaching the lower part of his neck. Nino mentally slaps himself for checking out the servant. He knows it's not really considered cheating, but he still feels like he's betraying Jun in some way. The servant chuckles at him and helps him clean the dust off his robes.

"Where were you going, Head Healer Nino? Would you like me to accompany you?" The servant offers. He looks eager to help, and while Nino generally wouldn't mind the offer, this isn’t really something he can ask someone else to help with. Searching for a Jotun in the Vanir palace? Preposterous! Nino shakes his head. 

“No, but thank you for the offer…?” He realizes he doesn’t know the name of the servant. The servant blinks at him in surprise, and Nino notices the tiny moles near the man’s mouth. How charming. Oddly enough, it reminds him of the markings on Jun’s beautiful face. The Jotun had swirls and jagged lines that decorated his face, and Nino was memorized when he realized how detailed the markings were. Jun had told him that the while the markings on every Jotun was generally unique, family members had similar designs in the markings. It was quite exquisite, and one thing that Nino has never failed to tell Jun. Nino groans mentally as he realizes that he's thinking about Jun's markings because of some other person's moles. He's got it bad, worst than he thought.

“Ah! Forgive me, I have not introduced myself! My name is Sota," the servant introduces himself enthusiastically and gives a small bow. He gives Nino a boyish grin and Nino marvels at the youthful energy the servant exudes, despite his mature looks. Nino scowls at himself and wonders why he's acting like an old grump. The servant widens his eyes and mistakens his scowl for displeasure. "My apologies, Head Healer! I did not mean to offend you!" The servant gives him a low bow now in apology. Nino blinks and grins sheepishly at him. 

"Ah, no! You didn't do anything wrong. I was just thinking of something else. Sota, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Where do you work?" Generally, servants are only interacted with when needed, but Nino has never followed the rules in this matter. He knows for a fact that Satoshi doesn't either, something that exasperates his parents endlessly. Sota looks surprised that Nino wants to talk to him further. Blushing, the servant looks down at his feet.

"Ah, um, I just started, Head Healer. I work in the kitchens." Sota seems to shrink into himself a little more and he mumbles something that Nino isn't able to catch.

"Sorry?"

"Ah, I said that the bread that you and the Ohnosons ate this morning was baked by me..." he says in a whisper. Nino looks at him in surprise.

"Oh, really? It was delicious! Thank you for your hard work!"

"It's nothing, Head Healer!" Sota chirps, quickly forgetting his nervous demeanour from earlier. He then recognizes this and continues to look down again. Nino laughs. He generally doesn’t make the servants that nervous with his presence; that's more of Satoshi's job. Nino has seen servants stammer their way through a conversation with the crowned prince while Satoshi would smile at them lazily and reply in kind, but a bit distant since he’d be generally thinking of what he wants to do next that day (and usually drags Nino along into his troublesome antics), or what he wanted to paint for his next project. 

"Anyway, I will leave you to your duties then, Sota. I'm afraid I have to get going," Nino says. Sota gives him another low bow and scampers off after stammering a nervous goodbye. Nino watches the young man go in amusement before turning back to the palace with a sigh.

Right, Jun.

 

Nino spends the rest of the afternoon searching the palace. He checks the general and main areas of the palace: he checks the healing room very briefly (maybe Jun is curious of his work?), he checks the gardens (Masaki was teaching the children about the woodland creatures), he checks the throne room (Satoshi just sent him amused glances every now and then while Nino was scoping the room discreetly), and he checks all the hiding places that he and Satoshi had used when they were younger. He groans in frustration. No luck whatsoever.

Nino is now convinced that Jun has probably left Vanaheim for good, and is probably back in Jotunheim. The thought of this possibility devastates him. Surely Jun would at least leave a note of some sort? But Nino has checked his quarters three times since the morning and he finds nothing.

“Stupid frost giant,” Nino mutters under his breath as he makes his way to the healing chamber. He decides that he’s going to spend the rest of his day there and help out his apprentices and the other healers. The healing chamber is always busy, and an extra hand is always welcomed.

When Nino enters the healing chamber he is greeted by several healers, but is quickly ignored again in favour of their patients. Returning their greetings, Nino heads into his personal healing quarters to change. For once, it’s empty. He has given his patients to his apprentices to train with (under his very strict supervision of course). It takes a load off his shoulders, even though he does enjoy healing the wounded back to good health. He knows Satoshi has some hand in his “free” schedule, making a personal request to the other healers to give Nino more time to relax as he is always in the healing room working. 

 _You need time to relax and be stress free_ Satoshi had insisted. Nino snorts. Jun was supposed to be that distraction. Too bad Jun disappeared within the three days Satoshi had arranged for his free schedule. He had forbidden Nino from working, and only allowed him to visit the healing room to make sure things were in order; he was specifically ordered to not see any patients within the three days of Jun’s visit. Nino doesn’t care for Satoshi’s orders though (one of the perks of being the prince’s best friend), and brushes aside the other healers and apprentices protests when they see him enter the healing chamber wearing his healing robes. When they realize their protests are useless, they go back to their duties with some hesitation. Nino reassures them that they wouldn’t be in trouble with the prince.

He looks around the room and spots a familiar face. In fact, a face he has just seen an hour ago. “Sota!” Nino exclaims in surprise. Sota looks up from his healing bed and his face colours when he sees Nino heading his way.

“Head Healer!” Sota squeaks in greeting. Nino watches in amusement as the younger man turns red in embarrassment. It’s quite endearing. Nino hasn’t made anyone blush or stammer for a while, especially not cute males like Sota.

“What are you in here for? Surely our little accident earlier didn’t injure you?” Nino is already checking the man for injuries. He holds his hand out and mutters a spell underneath his breath. A flash of blue light envelops Sota’s entire body before disappearing. “Well, you seem healthy enough,” Nino says when he receives the diagnosis from the spell. Just a few small scratches and burns on the hand. Most likely from working in the kitchen Nino guesses. "What has the healer given you?" He asks and takes a seat beside the bed. To his amazement (and glee), Sota turns even redder at their close proximity.

"Ah, um... they gave me this green paste earlier for my hands and then they wrapped up the cuts," Sota says as he holds up his bandaged hand. "I mean, it feels a lot better, the burns I mean, but I wish they would give me something to make my hand heal faster. I need to get back to work as soon as possible," Spta looks down at his hands and pouts. Nino thinks he's adorable. Without further ado, he takes Sota's hands into his.

 "May I?" He asks. "I can heal the wounds on your hands if you would like."

"Oh! But surely you are busy with other patients? Not that I'm not grateful or anything," Sota says nervously. He isn't even looking at Nino. Nino laughs. 

"It wouldn't take long at all! But I need your permission first. Sota, would you like me to heal your hands for you?" Sota nods and blushes.

"Yes please," he consents in a small voice.

"Great! Just sit back and relax okay? And try not to move your hands. It may sting a little at first," Nino begins to unwrap the bandages around his hands quickly. Sota watches him in silence.

Nino's hands expertly unwraps all the bandages without a single tear or rip. He then quickly gathers the bandages into a pile at the bedside table, placing them out of the way.  Nino places both hands over Sota's and begins chanting and under his breath. Nino feels Sota flinches a little when the spell begins to take place, but then relaxes and replaced by fascination when he hears the intake of breath when the wounds begin to disappear. The burns begin to recede rapidly, the muscles and tendons quickly reconnecting and repairing themselves with a small snap. Once the skin is repaired, Nino moves onto the cuts next. He starts his chanting again, only this time he grabs each of Sota's fingers individually in his palm and proceeds to push the healing spell into the cuts, quickly closing them up. Nino sneaks a small glance at Sota, and avoids trying to giggle at Sota's dumbfounded expression he's making at his hand.

Finally, Nino casts a final diagnosis spell, the same blue light from before and throws in a few protection spells on Sota's hands for good measure. Sota must've realized he had done something without telling him, and asks what the yellowish glows were. Nino smiles and puts down the young man's hands, skin perfectly healed and good as new.

"I placed a few protection spells on for you, so that you wouldn't face the same scenarios as today. The pale yellow spell is protection against small cuts and wounds, while the darker yellow spell is protection against fire and heat damage," he explains as he begins to clean up the bandages on the bedside table to throw away later.

"That's amazing!" Sota exclaims in awe. "I I've never seen spells like these before, even though I'm pretty sure they exist."  

Nino laughs and turns to the younger Vanir. "They do, but this is my own version of the spells. When you have a prince who likes to fish all the time and create art which includes working with fire, you need to be creative!" Yes, he had created these healing spells for the crowned prince. When one has a prince who likes to fish and work with clay and pottery, and all sorts of other things including working with blacksmiths for fun, one _had_ to be creative. "I made them when the prince was young actually. He was always getting himself into messes, cutting his hand from his fishing hobby, or burning his hands from working with the blacksmiths that I had to do something about it. He would whine all the time when he went to the healing room. It drove me crazy," Nino explains. He loves his prince and best friend very much, but the Vanir really does drive him crazy sometimes.  

Sota smiles at him. "You must be very close to the prince then? Are you lovers?" Sota asks timidly, unsure if this is something he is allowed to speak about freely. Nino laughs and shakes his head.

"No! Not at all! We may seem very compatible, and we are really, but we grew up together and I believe that if we ever got together, we would lose that special friendship we have. We agreed that it's better for the both of us to stay as best friends, rather than taking that extra step into being lovers. Besides, he's the crowned prince, I'm just his royal head healer. I can't be taking care of him all the time anyway," Nino replies with a shrug. Sota frowns.

"But you guys would make a very nice couple together!" Nino raises an eyebrow at him.

"I know that you and many others think that, but trust me, Prince Satoshi and I know too much about each other to see each other in that way. He's my soulmate, and I love him very much, but I cannot see him as anything other than an older brother."

Sota blushes. "Forgive me, I spoke out of turn."

Nino shakes his head. "I'm not offended. I know what people think about us, and what I said is true. I love him like my brother, and our relationship is much better this way. Besides, he's already sort of seeing someone at the moment... if my guesses are correct. Well, I think he's being courted, but has no idea if he is. Prince Satoshi is like that." Nino grimaces at his best friend's obliviousness. Sota looks at him in surprise.

"Who?" Nino smiles at him and pats his shoulders.

"Sorry, Sota, but I'd like to keep their identity a secret for now. It may or may not come to pass between the two of them." Sota nods.  

"I understand. I'm just a kitchen help, after all!" Nino shakes his head at him and checks his hands again.

"It's not that, but anyways...I think you're good to go now. Try not to burn yourself too badly again! Though, that would only happen if you actually stuck your hands into the flames," Nino warns and pats the younger male's hands.  

"Yes, thank you, Head Healer!" Sota sends him a beaming smile before his tall figure is dashing out of the room. Nino watches him go with an exasperated smile.

Nino decides to stay in the healing room for a little longer after Sota leaves. He watches over the other healers and apprentices before making his way back to his private healing room. The private healing room is for his use only, and the Ohnosons are the only ones that use it. Nino has lost count at the numerous amount of times Satoshi has sat in here because of his carelessness. Sitting down on the bed, Nino thinks back to the conversation he had with Sota. He isn't stupid. He knows there's still a lot of gossip and rumours flying around about him and Satoshi, even after the two centuries he has been appointed as the Head Healer.  

As a young child, Nino had a gift for the healing arts. Whenever he got injured from playing outside, he found that he could heal tiny ailments such as cuts and small bruises that appeared. His mother had trained him all she knew (she was their village healer), but she knew that he could go even further with his abilities. When he was approaching his third decade, she sent him off to the royal palace to do an apprenticeship with the skilled healers in the palace. From there, Nino developed his skills as a healer, and was under apprenticeship with the head healer at the time. During his apprenticeship, he adopted the nickname, Nino, after his father because he wanted to start fresh. His mother was famous for her healing abilities in their area of the planet, and she was friends with the Head Healer of the palace at the time. He didn't want people to judge him based on his connections.

Outside of his training, Nino found himself very lonely. He had some fellow healer apprentice friends he would talk to, but they weren't close. Since his first night at the palace, Nino had never interacted with the Ohnosons at all, spending all his time on perfecting the healing arts with his mentor. The elder Ohnosons generally stayed in the throne room, taking care of the requests and complaints from their people. The prince was often off on his own doing whatever he fancied. Nino's first encounter with the young prince at the time was more dramatic than one would've thought, considering the prince's demeanour. 

Nino had been sitting at the river banks wallowing in self-pity at his loner status when he heard a loud shout, followed by a stream of curses one wouldn't dare repeat in front of their mother. Looking up, he saw a figure on the other side fall into the river while clutching their left arm. Nino had jumped to his feet and quickly ran over to the other side as fast he could and hauled the figure out of the water. While the river wasn't deep, the figure wasn't coming back up to the surface, and that had prompted Nino into action. When he managed to get the man out of the water, he almost yelped in surprise. When he saw that it was the prince he saved, he couldn't help but yelled, "Are you an idiot?!"

It turned out that Satoshi had cut himself with one of his knives when he was trying to gut one of his catches. Nino had proceeded to rant the entire time he was healing the cut, while Satoshi sat there sheepishly. Still in utter disbelief at the young prince's carelessness, Nino stayed with the young prince for the rest of his outing, not even caring that he was skipping one of his shifts in the healing room. Someone had to make sure the prince didn't actually kill himself. Even though Nino was very aware about the status of the Vanir beside him, Satoshi was incredibly easy to talk to (despite his lack of talking for most of the time together).

When Nino had entered the healing chambers the next day after his adventure with the prince (or lack of), he received a verbal lashing for his absence by his mentor's assistant (his mentor was out of town for the week to help cure the ailments of a disease in a faraway town). Nino stood there in front of the other healers and apprentices while the assistant ranted on about his irresponsibility (the assistant hated him). Nino had been so focused on trying not to snap back, that he didn't hear the complete silence that enveloped the room. Looking up, he saw Satoshi standing at the doorway, a sleepy expression on his face as he took in the proceedings before him.

"Oh, was I interrupting something?" The crowned prince asked sheepishly, but his gaze was focused on Nino. The assistant sputtered and insisted that the prince was not interrupting anything at all. Satoshi nodded at the assistant before turning back to Nino. "Apprentice Healer Nino, would you accompany me to the blacksmith today? I enjoyed the conversation we had yesterday afternoon."

Ah, so Satoshi did hear the whole thing Nino thought to himself as the silence grew even more deafening, and the assistant came to the realization of where Nino was yesterday. Nino rolled his eyes at the prince, but gave him a small smile.

"Someone has to keep you out of trouble," he replied. Satoshi laughed.

"You can heal me again if I burn myself." 

"I live to serve, Prince Satoshi."

They were inseparable after that. After their trip to the blacksmith's that day, Nino found himself spending more and more time with the young prince, often keeping him company around the palace. When Nino achieved his official healer status designation after finishing his apprenticeship two decades later, Prince Satoshi had appointed him as his official healer.

Nino had been conflicted about the title. He had no doubts about his skills as a healer; he knew he was good, there was no question about it. He worked hard, and he had the skills and talent to back it up. However, being appointed the prince's official healer? That was another beast. But he knew the prince's reasons for doing so. The prince was a very quiet person, and often spent his time in solitude. The fact that Satoshi went out of his way to find, and speak to Nino was a shock to everyone, and a source of happiness for his parents, who were both afraid he would never find a friend (his cousin, Masaki, didn't count since they were family). Nino knew that Satoshi trusted him, and he was very grateful that the prince confided in him in personal matters, but this appointment was sure to get the tongues wagging, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to receive that much attention; he'd rather not receive any attention to himself since he was just a healer.

Nino had been determined to tell Satoshi to reconsider his decision, but the delighted look on Satoshi's face whenever he saw Nino or Masaki was enough to make him stop. Eventually he relented to his fate; someone had to take care of the prince after all.

Now, almost more than two centuries later, people were still wondering and gossiping about their relationship. They both didn't really did much to encourage or discourage the rumours. "We know the truth, and that's all that matters." Satoshi had once said about the subject, and Nino agreed. Too bad it didn't really help his romantic relationships with others over the years. His relationships always ended too soon because his partner felt threatened by Satoshi, even when Nino was adamant that nothing was between them. Hence why he decided to give up on courting for a while...until now.

_Does Jun feel the same way also?_

Nino frowns at the potions bowl beside the bed. Is this why he disappeared? When they both agreed to make the relationship official, Nino had told Jun upfront that there was nothing between him and the prince, and that Jun was the first person in a very long time to have caught his interest. Jun had understood, and confessed that he didn't really see them that way when he saw them interact. Nino had felt very lucky that he had finally found someone who didn't have the wrong idea about his best friend and him.

 _Was I wrong though?_ Nino thinks to himself. They have only been together for three months, and it has been nothing short of amazing so far. Nino hopes that Jun doesn't feel jealous. _I like him a lot... it would crush me more than I would admit if he ended things_ . Nino sighs and decides to get back to work. There's no use thinking about it if the Jotun in question is missing.

After a rather uneventful day at the healing chamber, Nino decides to head back to his quarters for the evening. As he climbs the stairs, he notices the crowned prince's figure in the private garden. To his surprise, Prince Sho is with him. Nino rushes to the nearest window and chuckles at the both of them. They're both sitting very close to each other, arms touching slightly. Nino smirks. He knows that Satoshi has a thing for Sho. _He's probably figuring out a way to propose a courtship_ Nino thinks to himself as he watches the Alfheim prince stammer for a bit, before heading back up the stairs to give them their privacy.  

Nino yawns as he makes his way into his quarters. He removes his healer robes and drapes them over the chair by the hearth. Grumbling to himself, he proceeds to remove his inner robes to change into something more comfortable when he notices a figure in his bed. Nino's heart skips a beat. _Is it...?_ He slowly makes his way to his bed and sees Jun's blue sleeping face snuggling against the covers. Nino is so shocked that he doesn't do anything for a few seconds until he realizes how annoyed he is. Not caring about how cute Jun may be while sleeping, he jumps onto the bed and starts slapping at the covers, and rustling the sheets. Jun's eyes snaps open, and he quickly sits up throwing his arms across his face in defence, hands glowing purple.  

"Who--oh! Kazunari, welcome back!” Jun greets happily and Nino glares at him. Jun looks at him in confusion as he tries to pull Nino close to him. But Nino isn't having any of it. He slaps Jun’s hands away and crosses them across his chest. Jun frowns. “What's wrong?” 

"You idiot! You think you can sleep in my bed anytime you want?! Where the nine have you been today?!" Nino is seething. "You think you have a right to be here anytime you want?" Jun’s mouth is wide open in shock as he looks at him in disbelief.  

"I-what?!" Nino narrows his eyes at him.  

"Where did you go? You just disappeared!" Nino is shouting now, annoyed at Jun's cluelessness and ignorance. Here he is, terrified and worrying out of his mind about Jun's disappearance and wondering if he did anything wrong after they spent the night together, and Jun is acting like he didn't disappear for almost 18 hours; his mouth open like a fish.  

"I didn't disappear! I was in the palace the whole time. By the nine, you didn't realize it was me?" Jun is now frowning at him, and pouting. Nino stares at him. Jun never pouts. The image is stirring many feelings inside of him right now, and they're all directed towards the lower half of his body. The Jotun in front of him picks at the blankets.  

"Jun, what are you talking about?" He asks warily.  

Jun sighs and brushes a hand through his hair. His red eyes looks pained and a little hurt. "I'll just show you." 

Nino has always been fascinated with Jun's beautiful cool blue skin, with markings that went on and on forever. Cuddling with Jun is one of the best things ever because Nino hates sleeping next to someone in bed when it's hot. The fact that Jun's body is always cool is a blessing, and he has never enjoyed cuddles more than he has now.  

Nino watches in astonishment as Jun's blue skin begins to bleed away revealing a warm and peachy skin tone, similar to that of a Vanir's. He gasps when Jun's face morphs into one he has seen several times earlier today.  

"Sota?!"

Jun smiles back at him with Sota's cute mouth. "Surprise!"

"You...what?" Nino stares at him. "You were Sota this whole time?!" Jun pouts at him.

"You really didn't know it was me, huh?" Nino shakes his head.

"No, I really didn't. I had no idea. " Now that he thinks about it, he can see several qualities from Jun that is portrayed in Sota. The soft kindness he radiates when his attention is on him, the eagerness he portrays when he's excited about something, and the emphasis on his appearance (Nino caught him checking his hair in the healing chamber’s mirrors a few times). He moves closer to him, and touches his lover's hand in amazement. "Were your hands actually burned?" Jun chuckles sheepishly and holds his hands out for him to see. 

"Yeah they were. I did throw a spell on it to prevent it from damaging too much of the skin, but I couldn't be too obvious about the magic use around here." _That is true_ Nino thinks as he examines Jun's hands again. While magic isn't a taboo or even ridiculed among the Vanir unlike their Aesir neighbours, powerful magical use, especially in the royal palace could attract unwanted attention. The mages in the palace would be able to detect strong uses of magic and would seek out the mage using it. All mages had to register their name and abilities to be able to even set foot into the palace. It was a safety precaution Satoshi had put in place after someone had gotten violent towards Nino when they were younger due to jealousy. Speaking of Satoshi… 

"Jun, why did you disguise yourself without telling me?" Nino hopes Jun question about his relationship with Satoshi earlier in the day has nothing to do with it. He thought that Jun understood clearly that there is nothing going on between them. Jun blushes.  

"I was curious about your life here," he replies. "I wanted to know what others thought of you, and I wanted to know how you lived in the palace." Jun wraps his arms around Nino. "I know I should have told you this morning, but I wanted to see for myself. I'm sorry I left; that was a really inconsiderate thing to do now that I think about it." 

Nino sighs and leans into the Jotun's cool embrace. He brings his hands up to touch Jun's wrist, tracing the markings etched into his skin. "It's fine, I thought I did something wrong for you to leave me this morning," Jun shakes his head rapidly.  

"No! Of course not! You're one of the best things in my life right now. I’m always happy to have you with me." Jun kisses the top of Nino's head. Nino blushes and hides his face into Jun’s neck.  

"By the way, you asked me about Satoshi earlier. Are you still…?" Jun laughs and shakes his head. He leans back into the bed, dragging Nino with him and setting the Vanir on top of him. Nino wraps his legs around the Jotun's hips and rests his head on the frost giant's chest.  

"No, I know there's nothing more than friendship between the two of you. But I guess I couldn't help it. I think it's natural to be jealous that you have such a close relationship with someone other than myself, Kazu." He nuzzles the top of Nino's head. "And with a crowned prince to boot."

"Well, as long as you know that Satoshi and I are no more than friends, it's good. Besides, you know Sho and Satoshi are going to enter a courtship soon... if Satoshi realizes it, that idiot. Maybe you should ask Sho to initiate it instead?" Nino sighs in frustration. It feels like the two of them have been dancing around each other for centuries, even though they recently started flirting in the past few months despite knowing each other for At least a century now. Jun pets his head.

"You know I can't do that. Sho has to do this for himself. He would kill me if I interrupted the courtship. He’s a very meticulous man.”  

 _Maybe too meticulous_ Nino thinks to himself but says instead, “Satoshi wouldn’t.”

"But if Sho finds out that I had a hand in it, he would be very mad. Do you know how scary he is when he's mad? He's a fool, and I love him a lot, but the elf is a demon when he's angry."

"It's just so frustrating. I just want Satoshi to be happy," he complains and snuggles closer to Jun basking in the mix of their body temperatures. Jun tightens his hold around his lover’s smaller frame.

"I know, but we have to let them deal with it on their own."  

"You can cut the sexual tension with a sword. It drives me crazy. Maybe I should get Masaki to use his super crazy Aesir strength and have him lock the two of them in charmed room," he muses, thinking up of scenarios. Jun chuckles.

"Sho's very skilled at magic. I have no doubt that he would be able to escape the room you've sealed for them," he smiles at Nino when the Vanir gives him a pout.  

"We have to at least do something. It's driving me crazy.."

"Hm. We can do something for them later, but..." he snakes a hand up Nino's robes, stroking the piece of cloth shielding his wants. Nino groans and pressed into the Jotun's hand. "I think there's something else we can do for ourselves now," Jun suggests and claims Nino's lips with his own.

 

"You're amazing, you know that?" Jun says dreamily, basking in the afterglow of their post-lovemaking activities. Nino is cuddling up beside him, leg thrown over his hips.  

"I know I am," he replies. Jun rolls his eyes.

"I mean you're great in bed, but that wasn't what I was referring to." 

"Hmmm..."

Jun smiles at him, and Nino wants to kiss him but he doesn't; Nino is completely useless after sex. "I meant your healing abilities. You're a great healer; you deserve the title of the head healer." 

"Why are you bringing this up all of a sudden?"

"I actually stayed behind and watched you work with the rest of the wounded in the room, under disguise of course. You're great with them, and you're easily the best out of them all." Nino shrugs. It's not big deal.  

"The other healers do the same thing I do though," which is true, but Nino knows that even though he has more aptitude and ability for healing large wounds, most of the healing spells he uses are the standard ones that the Vanir healers use in the palace grounds. Nino's talent lies in improvisation and creation of spells. Jun shakes his head.  

"No, Kazu, you have a gift. I know you're capable of more than just standard healing spells." He raises a hand to stroke his lover's cheek. "Did you know that our first time meeting wasn't at the party held in Asgard?" Nino blinks in surprise.

"What? Did we meet before?" Jun laughs.  

"We didn't formally meet, but I saw you for the first time in Alfheim, when you helped Sho with his injury."

"What? Really?!" Nino exclaims in astonishment. "You were there? But I didn't see you!" 

"I was in disguise. Sho was against it, but I didn't want to cause alarm to the Vanir coming, especially since prejudice towards Jotuns was still prominent at the time. I was actually the female attendant beside him."

"That pretty elf was you?!" Nino exclaims in surprise. His visit Alfheim was his first medical trip as Vanaheim’s official Head Healer. At the time, Prince Sho had received a painful injury caused by accidentally coming into contact with an ancient artifact cursed with dark magic. Since Nino was one of the very few healers in the Nine Realms that had experience with healing, and dark magic (he had studied it out of pure boredom one day in his youth), and hailed from a peaceful realm, the king and queen were adamant about contacting the Vanaheim palace for his aid.  

Nino had gained a bit of a reputation after receiving his title as the Head Healer, and his skills were unrivalled to many other healers in the realms. That was also the first time Sho and Satoshi had met, and Nino remembers teasing his best friend about their interaction after they left for Vanaheim. He looks at Jun and remembers a tall and pretty blonde-haired elf who looked beside herself at the time, constantly scolding the light elf prince for his carelessness. Jun beams at the compliment.

"Yeah, that was me. King Loki was teaching me how to shape shift into female forms that time. I was worried people would find something amiss." 

Nino shakes his head and tightens his hold against Jun's frame. "Not at all, I thought you were really pretty, and his sister or something."

"He already drives me crazy as a friend, I can't imagine how it would be like if I was a relative," Jun grouses. Nino hums in agreement. The pair lie like that in comfortable silence, occasionally moving around to avoid numbness of their limbs. Finally, Nino turns his head towards his lover. 

"You enjoy being here with me though? Even though you can't be who you really are? You know Satoshi and I have your back, right?" Nino wants to make sure that Jun knows he isn't ashamed of their love, and isn't ashamed that Jun is a Jotun. Jun smiles at him.

"I know, and thank you. I'm glad that I decided to approach you that day." Nino blushes as he remembers their first official meeting. It had been a pretty embarrassing. "You were adorable."

Nino scowls at him. "I'm not adorable! I'm almost 300 years old! I'm an adult! _Adult_!" He whines. He had gotten a lot of teasing from his friends about his age due to his baby face. It's not his fault that he's blessed with good genes, no? 

"Adults can be adorable too, Nino," Jun scolds and and then tugs his lover's smaller frame closer to him. "Now, let's sleep. Today has been an eventful day, and I still haven't talked to Prince Satoshi properly yet."

Nino yawns and wraps his arms around Jun, basking in the cool temperature emanating from Jun's body. "He has a day off tomorrow, you'll probably see him fishing at the pond," He hears Jun say something in response and something about Jotunheim and festivals but Nino is already drifting off, due to the comfort and protection of Jun's magic and being wrapped in Jun's arms.

Tomorrow can come later.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Urgh. The formatting was a little weird when I pasted to AO3. So if there are typos or weird errors, please let me know! I went over this so many times it's beginning to blur. Anyways, I hope you guys liked it! Please let me know what you think! Comments and kudos are always appreciated~
> 
> As well, yes, that's Sota from Shitsuren. However, I have never seen the drama, so I made a different personality for him. I wanted to use his appearance for the fic.


End file.
